waterkeeper alliance

April 22, 2019 -
State regulators recently issued a new general permit for industrial hog farms, and it dashed the hopes of environmental advocates who say it represents a failure to address the unequal pollution burden borne by nonwhite communities. They're calling on the agency to take environmental justice into account in future permitting decisions.

September 28, 2018 -
As floodwaters receded, environmental watchdogs affiliated with the Waterkeeper Alliance took to airplanes and boats to document the pollution left in the storm's wake. Here's what they found.

February 3, 2017 -
EPA civil rights investigators say they're concerned that North Carolina's hog farm regulations are discriminating against communities of color — and they have the attention of the state's new top environmental regulator.

October 20, 2016 -
The record flooding across the Southeast from Hurricane Matthew has resulted in spills of waste from a Duke Energy coal ash pit, hog waste from factory farm lagoons, and sewage from water treatment plants.

March 9, 2016 -
Community advocates say settlement talks with North Carolina's environmental agency fell apart after state officials invited the hog industry into what were supposed to be confidential mediation proceedings in a federal case charging the state's regulation of the industry disproportionately harms communities of color.

December 11, 2014 -
Environmental advocates announced they discovered a coal ash leak into North Carolina's Yadkin River from a Duke Energy power plant just days before 60 Minutes aired a report in which the CEO said her company was "operating safely." Will the EPA finally take tough action to stop the ongoing coal ash disaster in that state and others -- or will that job continue to fall to private watchdogs?

March 21, 2014 -
Legal and regulatory pressure is building against North Carolina-based Duke Energy over its chronic mismanagement of toxic waste from coal-fired power plants. Meanwhile, environmental watchdogs using a hidden camera busted a Kentucky utility illegally dumping coal ash wastewater into the Ohio River.

March 14, 2014 -
Environmental groups have issued notice that they plan to sue a large North Carolina hog operation over illegal pollution. The company's president is a major political donor and the son of an influential former state lawmaker.

February 13, 2014 -
Following Duke Energy's massive coal ash spill into the Dan River, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) has come under scrutiny for his unusually close relationship with the utility giant. We take a by-the-numbers look at just how tight they are.